Massaging roller



Aug. 4, 1953 A. A. STUDLER MASSAGING ROLLER Filed Aug. 5, 1950 ow s Q m; M R w mm w on o h H B u E 6N ow N 68 o n... m m a.

IN V EN TOR, 7UQEZE 19. 5700458 Patented Aug. 4, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a. massage roller that is internally heated. Rollers of this type are used for massaging the human body. I

In its general construction this roller includes a tubular shell within which is mounted a coaxially disposed heating coil, the radiant heat from which raises the temperature of the tubular shell. The tubular shell is of conductive material such as metal and has an envelope or clothing of a plastic material, such as rubber, the surface of which is disposed in convolutions or teeth that impress themselves into the flesh of the person using the roller as the roller rotates. The heating coil is wound upon a tubular ceramic core that is located concentrically in the roller.

One of the difficulties that arises in using such a roller is that there is .a tendency for the roller to become overheated, at its middle, that is, at the portion thereof that is adjacent to the ceramic core that carries the heating coil. One of the objects of this invention is to provide improved means for mounting the coil and its ceramic core by means, having features of construction that will tend to prevent such overheating, the purpose being to enable the heat developed near the middle of the heating coil to be carried away toward the ends of the roller. In this way the concentration of heat at the middle of the roller is avoided, and a more uniform temperature established on the periphery of the roller throughout its length.

Another object of the invention is to employ features of construction which will facilitate the assembly of the parts of the roller and involves the employment of means for enabling the coil and its core to be placed in its proper position, on the spindle means without the necessity for employing integral shoulders on the spindle that would necessitate machine operations upon it.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient massage roller.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a massage roller embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and further illustrating details of the means employed for attaining the objects of my invention. This view is upon a larger scale than Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one end of the roller on the same scale as Fig. 2, and showing one head of the roller and a portion of the adjacent handle, broken away.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the device that I employ for holding the ceramic core of the coil fixed on the spindle of the roller, and which has a form facilitating circulation of air through the bore of the core.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken in a radial plane through the wall of the tubular spindle, and particularly illustrating the means and method for effecting the securing of the handle to the same, automatically as it were, when the spindle becomes heated from the heat developed by the heating coil, or from any other source.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and

particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the roller includes spindle means preferably including a spindle or inner shaft I which in the present instance is of tubular form and longer than the body 2 of the roller, so that its ends 3 and 4 project beyond the heads 5 and 6 of the roller.

The body of the roller includes a shell 2a of tubular form and composed of a conductive material, such as a suitable metal, and fitting tightly on the outer side of this shell there is a covering 212, preferably formed of soft rubber or plastic. This cover 2?) preferably presents a plurality of equidistant ribs or teeth I which resemble ordinary involute teeth of a gear wheel or pinion.

The heads 5 and 6 are of circular form and at their peripheries they present short cylindrical seats 8 over which the ends of the shell 2a fit tightly, the ends of the shell abutting against shoulders 9. These shoulders also abut against the ends of the covering 2b. The outer diameter of the heads is substantially the same as the diameter of the cover at the root circle of the teeth or ribs 1.

On their inner faces the heads may be formed with annular recesses III, as shown. Their central portions are formed into relatively long naves or hubs I I respectively which have bores I2 that fit closely to the diameter of the spindle I so that they will operate as bearings for the roller when it rotates.

The handles I3 and I4 are constructed of insulating material, preferably hard rubber or plastie, and are provided with bores I5 and counterbores I6. These counterbores extend into the handles from their inner ends. Furthermore, the ends of the handles are preferably formed with large fillisters, or curved faces I! at their outer ends for a purpose that will appear hereinafter.

The heating coil 18 is preferably disposed between the external threads IQ of the ceramic core 20. At each end the outer portion of the wall of the core is depressed, to present a flat face 2|, and at each of these flat faces a small hole 22 is provided for a purpose that will appear hereinafter. One of these holes is located at one end and the other at the opposite end and, as illustrated, they are out of line with each other, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In order to effect connections to the ends l8a and 18b of the coil, I provide the wall of the tubular spindle with two apertures 23 and 24 spaced apart, as shown, and in these apertures two tubular insulating sleeves 25 are provided through which two insulated lead-in conductors 26 and 21 pass outwardly. The inner ends of these insulated conductors 26 and 2'. terminate at sleeved connections 28 and 29 respectively, which connect them electrically to two lead-in wires 30 and 3|. These wires are electrically connected respectively to end wires I812 and I8?) of the coil and the connections between these two pairs of wires may be pushed down into the small holes 22.

The two insulated lead-in conductors 26 and 2'! are preferably covered with heat resistant insulation 32 such as a thermo-plastic material and they extend alongside of each other within the bore of the spindle 1 toward an end of the rolls In the present instance they are illustrated as extending over to a location within the counterbore 13 of the left handle I3, at which point they are secured to an insulated electric cord 33 through the agency of a clamp connection 34. The insulated wires of the electric cord 33 connect respectively to two contact prongs 35 of an ordinary electric plug 36.

In order to secure the ceramic core 20 in position without necessitating the use of shoulders on the shaft or the usual fastening such as threads and nuts, I prefer to employ two friction tight spiders 36 which generically have a form that enables them to hold themselves friction tight on the inner shaft, and which have a shape enabling their perimeters to engage and support the ceramic centered on the inner shaft.

While these spiders 38 could have any desired form, which would enable them to function in this way, I prefer to employ a patented friction tight nut, such as that illustrated in Fig. 4, and which is well known to the machine trade.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, I prefer to employ this nut in a rectangular shape at its exterior, though for my purpose it could have any polygonal form, so that it will present projecting points or corners 31, which assist in centering each nut on its ends of the ceramic.

In order to accomplish this, the ceramic is preferably formed at its end with a shallow counterbore 38, which has a depth about equal to the thickness of the plate from which the nut 36 is formed. Each nut is provided with a polygonal aperture 39, which in the present instance is of hexagon form; and aligning with two of the opposite edges of each opening 39, the material of the nut is provided with slits 40 that extend back into the material from these edges. These nuts are made of a plate material having sufiicient resilience to give a spring effect to the inwardly projecting tongues 4| that are formed between 4 the slits 40 and the adjacent inclined edges 42 of each aperture of the opening 39.

In order to enable these nuts to be used to advantage in assembling the parts, it is essential that the spindle should at least be of uniform diameter from one end, inward to the location of the ceramic, so as to enable the nuts to be shoved along the spindle from that end.

In putting the lead-in conductors in place, they should first be connected by proper electrical connections to the wires of the electric cord 33. Each of these connections can be completed by employing a connection sleeve or clamp 34. After which the inner ends of the two conductors 26 and 21 are bent laterally, and the two conductors are then shoved into the tube with the laterally bent ends out of line with the apertures 23 and 24 until the end of the longer conductor 21 is about opposite to the aperture 24. By advancing the two conductors with their laterally bent ends out of radial alignment with the apertures, there is no danger of the aperture 23 interfering with the advance of the forward end of the long conductor 21. When the conductors have been advanced far enough, they are then rotated until their laterally bent ends catch into the apertures 23 and 24 and protrude through the same. Then the sleeves 25 are applied over their ends and shoved down into the apertures to about the positions in which they are indicated in Fig. l. The laterally bent ends of the conductors 26 and 21 are then bent at their extreme ends into an inclined direction, such as illustrated in the drawing, and an electrical connection is then made to the wires 30 and 3i. This connection is completed by means of the clamping sleeves 28 and 29.

The body 2 of the roller is then slipped over the spindle and its end is seated on the cylindrical face 8, and against its adjacent shoulder S. The head 5 is then slipped over the end of the spindle and seated into the adjacent end of the body 2 of the roller. It should be stated, however, that before making the connection that includes the clamp sleeve 34, the two conductors 25 and 21 should be threaded through the bore of the left handle 13, from the outer end of this handle.

In order to secure the handles in place on the spindle I prefer to give their counterbores It a diameter which will enable the handles to establish a tight pressed fit on the ends of the spindle. And in addition to this, I employ a method such as illustrated in Fig. 5. In accordance with this method I form a recess or recesses in the outer surface of the spindle. In doing this I prefer to roll orcut the outer face of the spindle so as to produce a series of annular grooves 42 in the same. The section of the wall of the tube at the grooves has substantially the cross section of a thread, but, of course, each groove is a separate entity from the other grooves. By reason of the force employed by the press, when it shoves the handles into position, the inner end of the handle will pass readily over the V-shaped beads at the grooves. Each handle seats up against the adjacent outer face of its corresponding head 5 or 6. Now, when the inner spindle or shaft becomes heated the first time the nut 36 is attached into an electric circuit, the material at the inner end of the counterbore 3 of each handle will tend to expand by reason of the rising temperature. However, the encompassing ferrule resists this expansive force and reacts by forcingthe warm rubber down into the grooves. In this way the h n les ill become suificiently tight at the ends of the inner shaft to prevent them from working loose while the roller is being used. If it is necessary to make a repair in a roller, the handles can be removed if sufficient force is employed upon them.

It will be noted that the surface area of the spiders is much less than that of the bore of the ceramic so that the total area of the openings 20a is considerable.

In practice the spiders 36 are not perfectly flat plates but are slightly dished, and in assembling them with the sleeve 20 between them, they should be placed so that the convex side of each nut is toward the end of the bore. This is i1- lustrated in Fig. 1. I prefer to assemble them in that way because each nut will give greater resistance to a movement tending to move them away from the sleeve than toward the sleeve.

By reason of the polygonal form of the spiders it will be evident that a plurality of openings 20a are presented at the end of the ceramic 29 through which heated air within the ceramic can pass out and towards the ends of the roller. This movement of air is of course promoted by the fact that the roller while in use will be continually tilted up at one end or the other, and as hot air is lighter than air of a lower temperature, it will naturally rise out of the elevated end of the ceramic.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a massage roller, the combination of a tubular body having a chamber within the same, and having a covering on its outer side for rolling and massaging ones body, a spindle coaxial with said tubular body, an insulating core for a heating coil of substantially tubular form, having a bore, surrounding the tubular spindle and of larger diameter than the same, so as to form an air space between the spindle and the wall of said core, a heating coil carried on the exterior of the said core, lead-in conductors connected respectively with the ends of said coil, and spiders located respectively adjacent each end of the core, having an opening therein respectively, the edges whereof fit closely to the outer diameter 01 the spindle, said spiders also having means for engaging the core capable of holding the same centered coaxially on the spindle, and having considerably less surface area than the area of the bore of the core so as to permit heated air within the core to pass out towards the ends of the chamber within the roller.

2. A massage roller, according to claim 1, in which the said spiders are friction tight on the spindle, said spindle being of uniform diameter at an end of the same, to enable the spiders to be slid to their proper positions to hold the said core in a fixed position at an intermediate point on the length of the spindle.

3. A massage roller, according to claim 1, in which the said spiders are of polygon form so as to present a plurality of projecting points operating to engage the said core and support the same centered on the spindle.

1. In a massage roller, the combination of a tubular body having a chamber within the same, and having a covering on its outer side for rolling and massaging ones body, a spindle coaxial with said tubular body, an insulating core for a heating coil of substantially tubular form, having a bore and surrounding the tubular spindle, said core being of considerably larger diameter than the tubular shaft so as to define an air space between the tubular shaft and the said core, a heating coil carried on the exterior of the said core, lead-in conductors extending in through the tubular spindle, connected respectively to the ends of said coil, and spiders having plate form bodies of polygonal shape so as to present annular projections at their peripheries engaging said core and supporting the same centered on the spindle.

5. In a massage roller, the combination of a tubular body having a chamber within the same, and having a covering on its outer side for rolling and massaging ones body, a spindle coaxial with said tubular body, an insulating core for a heating coil of substantially tubular form, having a bore and surrounding the tubular spindle, said core being of considerably larger diameter than the tubular shaft so as to define an air space between the tubular shaft and the said core, a heating coil carried on the exterior of the said core, lead-in conductors extending in through the tubular spindle, connected respectively to the ends of said coil, and spiders located respectively adjacent the ends of the core, having plate form bodies of polygonal shape so as to present annular projections at their peripheries; the ends of said core having counterbores receiving said projecting corners and cooperating therewith to center the core axially on the tubular shaft; said spiders being of less area than that of the bore of the core to permit heated air within the core to pass out towards the end of the chamber within the roller.

6. In a massage roller the combination of a roller body having heads at its ends, spindle means extending in on the axes of said heads, a ceramic core having a bore, a heating coil wrapped on the exterior of the core, spiders friction tight on the spindle means and engaging the ends of said core, said spiders having peripheries presenting projecting points for engaging the ceramic core to support and center the ends of the same on the spindle means, said spindle means having projecting ends beyond said heads, handles secured to said projecting ends, an electric cord, and means for effecting an electric connection from the cord to said coil.

AURELE' A. ST'UDLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,248,593 Arnold Dec. 4, 1917 1,84=9,981 Sick Jan. 12, 1932 1,911,027 Marchand May 23, 1933 2,021,732 Lipsner Nov. 19, 1935 2,537,037 Curtis June 9, 1951 

